Angela's Gift II: The Life of Bowen
by Given-Inside
Summary: No one knew what devastation could come out of a petty romance. This is the story of a life led by betrayal and heartache. A life of the one person Eragon and Saphira wouldn't have expected...their own child. Sequel to A.G. DRAGONHEART/ERAGON XOVER
1. Bloodlust

"_Last Words of a Dying Sinner:"_

_My hands are tattered and my body is broken. Too many years have passed since those dreaded days. The days that I lost consciousness, and the days that I lost my mind. No one knows what terrible things I have done all for what I thought was for the good. "It was for the Kingdom," I told myself. "I did what was right." But with the heartache I've felt and the pain I've suffered, I ask myself each day until my final breath: "Was it really worth it?" _

_My mind has filled with hatred, colder than the blood stained on my hands. It drove me to foolery, and it drove me to betrayal. As my final breath comes closer, I still close my eyes and see the scaled face of my brother, who died saving my life, and the life of the country. I still remember throwing the ax towards his half-heart, and I cannot forget the earsplitting roar that escaped his throat before his golden eyes closed for the last time. It was my entire fault anyways. I should have taken the blunt of the ax, not him. _

_My eyes are closing now, and my breath is becoming shorter. Family, have mercy on me as you look down into Hell...where I belong._

- - - - -

Chapter 1: Beginning the End of Days

Blood stained the soil where the young teenager stood. Bodies' lay spilled about unorganized against the crimson colored grass, brought out even stronger by the smoky grey atmosphere. He held his spear in one hand, and his scratched up metal shield in the other. His skin was broken up, calloused by battle.

"The last man standing," the boy muttered, as he surveyed the dreaded landscape. "My father will be proud." He wiped the sweat from his brow and walked down the hillside slowly, listening for any cries for help from any fallen comrades. King Murtagh was a wise ruler, but the enemy got the upper hand of the battle and pushed the retreat towards the hill. The teenager grew braver, filled with adrenaline and fear, and lifted his spear up to give one last fight before going down. They fought for hours amidst the screams and battle cries until the last roar faded into a dull moan. He thanked the Gods that Murtagh was unable to fight, fearing that the ruler would have suffered the same fate as many of the other noble warriors.

_Bowen? _A voice appeared inside of his head. The young man turned to see a dusky brown dragon approaching from the west. He was a smaller size drake, just barely strong enough to support a rider. _I am so glad you are alive._

"So am I, Draecion," he replied. "Any news about the Southern flank?"

"My father is with them_,_"the dragon replied. "The barbarians have attacked numerous times, but the soldiers have held them off_._" Draecion landed beside the boy and began licking the blood off of the boy's hair. "Your father worries greatly about you, youngling. So does Saphira. It is good that Arthur knighted you, but your safety is becoming far too risky_._"Bowen groaned and looked up into the young dragon's golden eyes.

"I knew the job when I accepted the sword, cousin," Bowen defended himself.

"If so, why are you fighting with a spear? And where is the armor that they wear?"

"They just haven't fitted me with it yet!"

"Sorry,"Draecion muttered, lowering his head in apology. "Look, you know I consider you as a brother, yes?"

"Of course."

"Then you must know, brothers worry about each other. I fear that you are traveling down the wrong path. Covin'thra hasn't seen you in three full months and her younglings are missing you greatly. Even the Mighty Scarred One, Thorn is having doubts about you. We all know you are a good fighter, but it is better to be wise in situations like these and let others...?"

"...Die before me?" He finished angrily. "I don't want people of a lesser family to suffer when I am ready and willing to die just like the lot of them."

"We are not worried about your desire to fulfill your duties, Bowen. We are worried about your desire to kill until you reach it. How many bodies has that spear of yours gone through?" Bowen shifted his glance to his blood covered point of the weapon and gave a smirk.

"Not enough," he replied. "As long as these savages keep trying to break apart this Nation, there will be blood on the tip."

"Where is the young child I used to fly beside?" Draecion asked. "Remember when I would fly beside you when you ran through the forest. You beat me twice."

"Those days are gone, brother," Bowen sighed. "I am a knight now, Draecion. As a knight, I swore to honor, valor, and honesty. I honor my family by fighting for them. I hold true to valor, and I can honestly say that I enjoy every second of it."

"Well, I prefer only fighting if struck first." Bowen snickered and set his spear and shield down on the dirt.

"You can't be Draken's son," Bowen chuckled. "Your father was an even better fighter than I am."

"Why do you say 'was'?" Bowen smiled and stretched his arms, flexing his biceps as he reached out.

"Simply because I have surpassed him."

"Oh please," Draecion laughed out. "My father could take you down in less than two shakes of his tail."

"He may be your father, but he was my brother first."

"You are lucky, brave one. A boy of only fifteen usually could be slapped on the top of his head for insulting a son's father." It was true. Though Bowen was the greatest warrior, he was also the youngest. His father, Eragon taught him all swordplay and worked with him on his physical endurance ever since he was of the age to walk. After Bowen beat his own father at a scrimmage fight, he was given permission by Murtagh himself to join the new Republic of Camolot. No one knew why the name "Alageasia" had been replaced, but perhaps that was why the barbarian hordes revolted against the kingdom. It used to be so peaceful, but now every village was forced to look over their own shoulders.

"If you tried, I'd rip your tail off and force you to eat it," Bowen replied with a smile. "Its about twenty leagues from here to your father, right?"

"By foot, yes."

"Mind if I get a ride over to him?" Bowen collected his weapons and waited while Draecion crouched so he could mount him.

"On one condition," Draecion stopped him. "After you help my father, you must go and visit your family. Do we have an accord?"

"Alright," Bowen muttered. "This last fight, then we'll go see them...?"

"And Covin'thra," Draecion placed in. "You better not forget her. Also, Nasuada is expecting to give birth pretty soon. They're expecting a son. Eiden."

"Great. Let's get this over with."

**Oh it's going to get good...**

**PEACE! **


	2. Through the Flames

Chapter 2:

Chapter 2: Through the Flames

"Hold this line!" Draken screamed towards the soldiers underneath him. "If it is lost, so is the city!" There was a loud cheer from the troops as spears and swords flung upwards in salute to the famed purple dragon soaring just above them. In front of the mile long line of troops stood over ten thousand savage brutes wielding all sorts of weapons along with their wooden shields. The trumpets sounded and the war began. Both lines progressed forward as Draken landed behind his troops to march with them. "This is it, gentlemen! We cut them down and save our nation! Charge!" Full speed the two armies rushed towards each other, holding out their spears and swords and hoping that someone else's blood will stain its tip. Draken stopped running to look behind him, staring worriedly into his mate, Lunalese's eyes.

_Be careful, _she called out mentally to him. _I almost lost you once, and I'll be damned to lose you again._ Draken chuckled amidst the chaos and focused once again to the upcoming fight.

After countless seconds, the two lines converged with a blood curtailing crash. Body after body took the long plunge to the grassy soil and blood splattered across the battlefield with every swipe and jab of the warriors' weapons. Draken craned his neck and roared into the heavens, spreading out his wings to signal his joining into the glorious carnage before him. With a mighty leap, he flew right into the middle of the fight and touched down, swishing his mighty barbed tail and impaling several brutes with its spikes.

"Don't give up!" Draken shouted to his men. "Hold fast, men! We can do this!" He lifted his forearms up and slashed down at two spearmen, slicing both of them in half from their waistline. Two more brutes approached from his hindquarters and managed to stick a spear into his right hind leg. Draken roared in pain and quickly turned to chomp down on the attacker, severing his head from his body; the other ran like a coward only to have his throat slit from another one of Draken's soldiers. The dragon looked down briefly at the wound and clamped down on the spear's handle with his teeth. With a mighty yank, he pulled the tip out and snapped the spear in two with his jaws. He took a glance around the battlefield and cringed when he discovered that most of the bodies were his own soldiers.

"We're losing the position!" an informant cried, parrying a blow from a savage with his saber. Two seconds later, the informant fell to the attacker's blade, crying in pain before closing his eyes and entering the void. Draken's eyes widened as he surveyed his men. They were broken up, separated among the enemy on the field. It would take a mirical to get them back in line. Draken dashed back into the fight, ramming his spiked head into three swordsmen and tossing them into the air like weightless toys. They had no time to scream before their bodies impacted with the dirt to take their breaths away from them.

"Men!" Draken roared. "Back to the city walls! We'll make the final defense there! Move!" The horde of brutes pushed forward as the troops fell back, stabbing wildly at those slacking behind. Draken took to the sky and laid a line of fire to cover those of his men that were still alive. Some of his men, along with many of the brutes fell to the fire and danced through the field aflame before falling to the ground. Draken shook off the attack, knowing that those slower soldiers would have held up the force anyways.

"To the wall!" Draken screamed to the rest of his men. "We have to make the stand!" He doubled back to lay another sprout of fire, dousing most of the line with liquid flame. The screams and cries of the dying sent a shiver up Draken's spine.

_It's for the best, _he assured himself. _This land needs unity, and if they won't coexist with us, then they won't exist at all. _He flew full speed towards the city wall that overlooked the new town of Darat, one of the major port cities in all of Camelot. The river was to the left of the wall, providing great cover from an attack on that flank, but the hillsides were on its right, front and hind areas, creating a bowl where the town was in. There was no safe place for Draken's archers or catapults, and he knew it. He touched down next to an officer and growled as he looked at the oncoming savages on the hillside.

"Orders sir?" the officer asked Draken.  
"Get the archers and set them on the walls," Draken commanded. "Give me two catapults and face one towards our right and another toward our front quarters. We need not worry about the left because of the river, but I still want some troops to stand guard there for the just in case."

"Sir, we only have five hundred total remaining. Is there perhaps a better time to offer surrender?" The brutes converged towards the walls of the city with bloody spears and swords in their calloused war torn hands. Draken looked at the officer and showed his teeth.

"Douse a rock with oil before launching it," Draken ordered. "Launch two right on the hillsides just below these brutes."

"But what if the fires come back to us?"

"These walls are solid stone, friend. If anything, it would provide enough cover for us to figure out another plan. We can't surrender it. Think of the loss of food and goods! This is the trade route for most marketers in our nation!" The officer looked down into the city to see the two catapults sitting idle with their operators standing nervously beside them.

"You heard the dragon!" the officer ordered. "Douse the boulders and launch them."

- - - - - - - -

Bowen looked down at the carnage on the hillside while he rode astride his cousin, Draecion.

"Looks like Draken fell back," he told the dragon.

"Yes, but it also looks like it's a losing battle. Take a glance ahead, brother." Bowen did so and gasped when he saw the entire hillside littered with brute soldiers, all marching towards the town's walls. Draken was seen standing on his hind legs at the main gate in an attempt to look too intimidating to fight.

"I think we need to drop in for a little visit, don't you?"

"Drop in?" Draecion swooped down over the hill and roared with all his might at those below him. He was too young to sustain a flame, but his roar was quite powerful.

"This is where I get off, brother," Bowen said with a smile. "Tell Draken to push his troops forward and drive these brutes back into the woods."

"No you don't!" Draecion snapped. Bowen smiled and grabbed his spear.

"How do you plan on stopping me?" Before Draecion could react, Bowen leapt off of his side and dove towards the ground. It was less than fifteen feet, and, with one quick thrust of his spear, his fall was broken with the body of a fallen brute. Bowen pulled the spear's tip out of the man's torso and pointed it at the direction of the rest of the savages, who were all more than shocked over his sudden apperance. "Who wishes to go first?"

"It can't be!" One brute shouted. "It's Eragon's child! Heaven help us all." The men around him began to shake, barely able to hold their weapons.

"If you disband and serve with us, you may be able to go," Bowen explained diplomatically. "If not, then I will be forced to tear you limb from limb, just like my father to Galbatorix's followers years ago. Do you accept my wager?"

"Nay!" Many shouted. One man stepped out from the brutes and dropped his spear to show his submission.

"Peace, good sir," he said towards Bowen. "I wish for a word, and I call upon my honor as a former military general that no one strikes either of us during our conversation." The men around him bobbed their heads as the former general approached Bowen.

"Why are you doing this?" Bowen asked. "What is it that our king has done to cause such a disruption between us?"

"It is not the king nor the queen, knight," the general spoke formally. "We fight to keep another disaster like Galbatorix from taking the throne. Granted, Sir Murtagh and Madam Nasuada may be doing well in this present time, but what is there to say that things could be any different?"

"So what is it that you propose?"

"We wish for the people to lead ourselves, Bowen. No king, no kingdom, and no knights."

"By the gods, man! Do you mean to tell me that this is a treachery? Are you trying to overthrow their majesties?"

"To save our nation, yes we are. You are either with us, or you must fall like the rest."

"But Murtagh is my uncle, good sir. Surely there is a reason we can abide by."

"We have made our decision, knight." The general turned and picked up his spear. "It is one we are all willing to die for." He gave a cry out to the heavens and the crowd converged on him. Bowen defensively grabbed his own spear and took to his stance, jabbing the tip inside one man and shifting him over to smash him into another one, knocking both down but only killing one. He needed a sword for this many to fight. Still, he blocked each attack with the center area of his spear and came back with a slash from its tip. Finally, one swordsman decided to take a swing, but a quick swipe to his neck caused the blood to flow and the blade to drop. Bowen slid through the grass and grasped the silver blade in his right hand. Before rising to his feet, he thrust upwards, impaling one savage in his stomach before withdrawing and allowing the man to fall. The brutes encircled Bowen, growling menacingly and shouting obscene language as they clanked their spears and swords against their shields in anger.

"Bowen!" The young warrior looked up in time to see Draken and his son Draecion flying in perfect formation above him. Suddenly, a large explosion converged on the warrior and the numerous brutes, encasing them all in fire. Bowen stood still as the screams and roars of those burning consumed him with the flames. He felt the fire splash on his skin, but it didn't even singe his hair.

"The joy of being a dragon's son," he muttered amidst the flames.

The fire died down as quickly as it started up and Bowen was alone again with blood stained on his hands once more.

"Child!" Draken roared as he set down beside him. "What is wrong with your mind, Brother?" Bowen smiled and dropped his bloody spear.

"You needed reinforcements, yes? Well, I'm here." Draken snorted, black smoke lifting from his nostrils and rising up into the sky.

"You are a bloody fool, Bowen!"

"Why is that?"

"You were outnumbered! 200 to 1 are not good odds to stay and fight."

"To me they are." Bowen snickered and shook his head. "I may not have the apperance of a dragon, but I still have the strength of one."

"You are a true stonehead, brother," Draken muttered. "Eventually, all this fighting you do will lead to your downfall, and neither I nor your mother and father approve of it."

"Neither do I!" Draecion touched down beside his father and sneered. "Bowen, you must stop this! Your lust for blood will blind you from the things you hold close to you."

"Like?" Both dragons turned to look at each other.

"Family." Draken looked back to the city walls to see his troops looking on nervously. "Bowen, this has gone too far!"

"It is my duty to protect the kingdom and the king that runs it."

"Yes, but you should not try to kill yourself in doing so. Not everything is won with brawn, my sibling. Try wit and cunning once and again."

"Not really my strength, if you haven't noticed," Bowen replied sarcastically. "Well, the brutes have been pushed back and the city is safe for now. As far as I'm concerned, I've done my job." Draken and Draecion both growled at each other and turned to Bowen.

"Covin'thra is waiting with Thorn in the castle, Bowen. They say they need to speak with you."

"What about?" Draken lowered his head.

"You're far too young to remember, young one. All I can say to you is this: Everything said in the past is becoming true. Go to them, brother and take my son with you. We can hold this line for the time being."

"Okay Draken," Bowen replied. "Send Father my regards."

"I shall when I see him." Draecion crouched to the ground to allow Bowen to climb aboard. "Be careful."

"No guarantees, brother."

**PEACE! **


End file.
